Marcus Tullius Cicero · Complete work
Chapter 15
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SECTION 52non ergo erunt homines deliciis diffluentes audiendi, si quando de amicitia, quam nec usu nec ratione habent cognitam, disputabunt. nam quis est, pro deorum fidem atque hominum! qui velit, ut neque diligat quemquam nec ipse ab ullo diligatur, circumfluere omnibus copiis atque in omnium rerum abundantia vivere? haec enim est tyrannorum vita, nimirum in qua nulla fides, nulla caritas, nulla stabilis benevolentiae potest esse fiducia, omnia semper suspecta atque sollicita, nullus locus amicitiae.
SECTION 53quis enim aut eum diligat, quem metuat, aut eum, a quo se metui putet? coluntur tamen simulatione dumtaxat ad tempus. quod si forte, ut fit plerumque, ceciderint, tum intellegitur quam fuerint inopes amicorum. quod Tarquinium dixisse ferunt exulantem, tum se intellexisse, quos fidos amicos habuisset, quos infidos, cum iam neutris gratiam referre posset.
SECTION 54quamquam miror, illa superbia et importunitate, si quemquam amicum habere potuit. atque ut huius, quem dixi, mores veros amicos parare non potuerunt, sic multorum opes praepotentium excludunt amicitias fidelis. non enim solum ipsa fortuna caeca est, sed eos etiam plerumque efficit caecos, quos complexa est; itaque efferuntur fere fastidio et contumacia, nec quicquam insipiente fortunato intolerabilius fieri potest. atque hoc quidem videre licet, eos, qui antea commodis fuerint moribus, imperio potestate prosperis rebus immutari, sperni ab eis veteres amicitias, indulgeri novis.
SECTION 55quid autem stultius quam, cum plurimum copiis facultatibus opibus possint, cetera parare, quae parantur pecunia, equos famulos vestem egregiam vasa pretiosa, amicos non parare, optimam et pulcherrimam vitae, ut ita dicam, supellectilem? etenim cetera cum parant, cui parent nesciunt nec cuius causa laborent; eius enim est istorum quidque qui vicit viribus; amicitiarum sua cuique permanet stabilis et certa possessio, ut etiam si illa maneant, quae sunt quasi dona fortunae, tamen vita inculta et deserta ab amicis non possit esse iucunda. sed haec hactenus.
Mouseia
Mouseia’s complete machine-assisted Musean translation, made directly from all 27 Latin chapters and 104 sections for fidelity, philosophical precision, rhetorical clarity, structure, and cadence.
SECTION 52We should not, therefore, listen to men dissolved in luxury if they ever discourse upon friendship, which they know neither from experience nor from reason. For who is there, in the name of gods and men, who would choose to overflow with every resource and live amid an abundance of all things, on the condition that he love no one and himself be loved by no one? Such, of course, is the life of tyrants, in which there can be no good faith, no affection, no settled confidence in goodwill: everything is always suspicious and anxious, and there is no place for friendship.
SECTION 53For who can love a man whom he fears, or one by whom he believes himself to be feared? Yet tyrants are courted in pretense, at least for a time. But if they happen to fall, as generally happens, it is then understood how destitute of friends they were. Thus Tarquinius is said to have declared in exile that only then did he understand which of his friends had been faithful and which unfaithful, when he was no longer able to repay either kind.
SECTION 54And yet, considering his arrogance and brutality, I wonder whether he could ever have had any friend at all. Just as the character of the man I have mentioned made it impossible for him to acquire true friends, so the wealth of many men of overwhelming power excludes faithful friendships. For not only is Fortune herself blind, but she also generally makes blind those whom she embraces. Consequently, they are commonly carried away by disdain and insolence; and nothing can be more intolerable than a fortunate fool. Indeed, one may observe that men whose characters were formerly agreeable are changed by command, power, and prosperity: old friendships are scorned by them, while new ones are indulged.
SECTION 55What, moreover, could be more foolish than for men who possess the greatest abundance of resources, means, and wealth to procure everything else that money can procure—horses, servants, splendid clothing, costly vessels—yet fail to procure friends, the best and fairest furniture, so to speak, of life? For when they acquire those other things, they do not know for whom they are acquiring them or for whose sake they labor; since each of those possessions belongs to whoever proves strongest, while every man’s possession of his friendships remains stable and secure. Thus, even if those things which are, as it were, the gifts of Fortune should remain, life, if uncultivated and bereft of friends, still could not be pleasant. But enough on this point.
Mouseia
Mouseia’s complete Plain English edition, made independently and directly from all 27 Latin chapters and 104 sections.
SECTION 52We must not, therefore, listen to people softened by excessive luxury if they ever discuss friendship, which they understand neither from experience nor from reason. For, in the name of the good faith of gods and men, who would want to possess an overflowing abundance of every resource and live amid a profusion of everything, on condition that he neither love anyone nor be loved by anyone himself? This, of course, is the life of tyrants—a life in which there can be no good faith, no affection, and no secure confidence in lasting goodwill. Everything is always suspicious and anxious; there is no place for friendship.
SECTION 53For who can love a man whom he fears, or a man by whom he believes himself feared? Tyrants are nevertheless courted, but only with pretense and only for a time. If they happen to fall, as they generally do, it then becomes clear how destitute of friends they were. This is what Tarquin is said to have declared in exile: that only then did he understand which of his friends had been loyal and which disloyal, when he was no longer able to repay either group.
SECTION 54Still, considering his arrogance and brutality, I am amazed that he could have had any friend at all. And just as the character of the man I have mentioned made it impossible for him to acquire true friends, so the wealth of many extremely powerful men excludes faithful friendships. For fortune is not only blind herself; she generally makes blind those whom she embraces as well. Thus they are commonly carried away by disdain and insolence, and nothing can become more unbearable than a fortunate fool. Indeed, one may observe that people who were formerly agreeable in character are changed by command, power, and prosperity: they scorn their old friendships and indulge their new ones.
SECTION 55What could be more foolish than for people who possess the greatest resources, means, and wealth to acquire everything else that money can buy—horses, servants, splendid clothing, precious vessels—but not acquire friends, the best and most beautiful furnishing of life, so to speak? For when they acquire those other things, they do not know for whom they are acquiring them or for whose sake they are laboring; each of those things belongs to whoever proves strongest, but each person’s possession of his friendships remains stable and secure. Even if those things that are, as it were, gifts of fortune remain, a life uncultivated and deserted by friends still cannot be pleasant. But enough of this.